


It's Better Off This Way

by orphan_account



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Animal Abuse, Anne is Slytherin, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Hufflepuff, Kat is Hufflepuff, Slytherin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23528767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Hogwarts AUAnne Boleyn and Katherine Howard have been witches their entire life. They lived in a community surrounded by magic, never having to hide what they were. But when Anne's father got a muggle job, the Boleyns’ plus Katherine moved to a secluded town away from magic.
Relationships: Anne Boleyn/Catherine Parr
Comments: 18
Kudos: 95





	1. Chapter 1

“I can’t wait until its the break!” Anne sighed dramatically as she slumped further down her chair. Usually, she enjoyed transfiguration but when it came up to OWLs and Anne knew all the information, she found herself wishing she could be sat next to Cathy.

“There’s only a week left, Miss Boleyn. I’m sure you can manage.” said Professor McGonagall. “Now sit up and turn you Toucan into something.”

“Sorry Professor.” Anne mumbled dejectedly, raising her wand.

The rest of the week went a lot like that, the only thing that kept her going was Kitty and the thought of seeing all her muggle friends. On the last day, Anne flung the door open and ran into her dorm. “Kitty!” Anne shouted, “You better be ready because we’re hopping on the first carriage out of here!”

“Anne, I know you want to see Cathy but calm down, it’s not like it will go faster if you’re more excited.” Kitty reasoned, popping her head out from around the door leading to the bathroom. Her hair was dripping with a pink substance. “Also, how did you get in here?” She asked.

“I did the tap thing, duh.” Anne stated and flopped onto her cousin’s bed. “Besides, this is important.”

“If you say so. Just give me a second, I need to wash this out.”

“Kit, you do realise Jane is going to freak when she sees what you got up to.” 

“Ah, but Anna’s gonna love it. The pros out-weigh the cons here.” Katherine shouted over the sound of running water.

Anne nodded and sat back, trying not to fidget. She didn’t manage that for long and was soon picking at her jumper sleeve. Her dad was going to need to buy a new one for next year at this rate. I should be revising, the thought was pushed to the back of her mind when her finger brushed against the bracelet Cathy got her for her birthday. She smiled at the thought of her best friend. Not seeing each other for most of the year made them both appreciate the limited time they had. Luckily, Kitty had told the group what they were just after meeting them. Even more luckily, the Ministry hadn’t found out so they didn’t need to be obliviated. Still, Kit had been given a stern talking to from Anne’s dad.

Anne knew Cathy would be missing her, so would Jane and Catherine, but sometimes she thought that she cares more about them than she does about her. A quick letter by owl, though, could get rid of those worries in less than a week. “Kit, what if-”

“Stop thinking about that Anne, they all miss us. In her last letter, Anna said that the group is going to buy us stuff for when we get back. So relax, besides, you’ll get to see them in less than twenty-four hours.” Kitty said, pulling her jumper back on. “Now come on, it’s lunch.” She threw her Hufflepuff robe on and moved towards the door.

Anne was sat down thinking, “Cathy hasn’t replied to my latest letter yet, what if she’s hurt!”

“Anne, I’m sure she’s fine, remember she had GCSEs to revise for. Speaking of, it’s almost your OWls, stop sitting around. Now move yourself, I’m hungry.”

Anne huffed but followed her cousin out of the Hufflepuff common room and into the Great Hall. Even though she was supposed to sit at the Slytherin table, Anne plopped herself into her normal seat next to Kitty. As fast as she could, Anne shoveled food into her mouth. Excitement filled every inch of her being. Of course, she still had her worries, but the thought of seeing her friends drowned them out.

The rest of the day went by in a blur. One second Anne was being pulled along in the carriages, ten the next thing she knew she was jumping into Cathy’s arms outside of Kings Cross Station. “Cathy!” She screamed, running over to the girl in blue. Her hair was hanging around her shoulders and her hands were tugging on the sleeves of the blue jumper Anne got her from Hogsmeade. When she saw Anne, her face lit up.

“Annie! I’ve missed you so much!” She whispered into the taller girl’s hair. Anne giggled and pulled her closer.

“I can’t believe you came down.” Anne said, pulling away.

“Well, I wasn’t going to leave you alone with Kit for any longer, was I?” She grinned and Anne felt butterflies erupt in her stomach.

“Hey!” Kitty cried, faking hurt. Cathy giggled causing Anne to start laughing too.


	2. Chapter 2

“Why didn’t you reply to my last letter?” Anne asked, her head resting on Cathy’s shoulder. They were sat on the grass outside Anne’s house, looking up at the stars.

“You sent a letter?”

“Yeah! Did it not get here?” Deep down, Anne started to worry. Barney was her owl and they went everywhere together. Especially during trips to Hogsmeade, he was always resting on her shoulder. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure Barney just got lost. Don’t worry Annie.” Cathy reassured her with a gentle hug.

“But, he’s never got lost before! Someone could’ve hurt him!”

“Annie, is something going on at school?” Cathy sounded so worried, Anne had to look into the girls brown eyes.

She wanted to tell Cathy about Henry and what he had been doing in the common room late into the night. She wanted to tell Cathy about the way Henry kissed her outside potions against her will. But she couldn’t, the words wouldn’t form in her mouth. So instead, she smiled and shook her head. “It’s all fine. I promise.”

Cathy stared into her eyes, trying to look into Anne’s thoughts. She didn’t seem to find anything because she sat back and cuddled closer to Anne. “I believe you Annie.” They stayed like that until the sun rose and the two girls wee bathed in the morning sunlight, fast asleep curled around each other.

\---

Usually when the two girls were home from school, they spent almost every waking hour with their friends.

Catherine Aragon tried her hardest to be cold, but really she was just as soft as a marshmallow. Her excuse was that she’s the oldest and that she had to be responsible for everyone. At first, they all bought it, but when Cathy had caught Catherine taking time out of her day to look after an abandoned kitten, the rest of the group quickly got the girl to relax around them.

Jane Seymour was practically the mother of the group, Anne would forever remember when she went into ‘protect Katherine’ mode after the young girl came to her crying about a Henry Mannox. To say Jane isn’t scary would be a lie.

Anna Von Cleves moved from Germany to England when her dad got a new job. To start with, Anna had been quiet, not knowing a word of English. Fortunately for her Kitty had been taking German lessons so she was there to help Anna learn and grow.

And Catherine Parr aka: Cathy. The light of Anne’s life, her reason to keep going. Of course Anne could never tell the girl that, they were best friends after all and that would be plain awkward. That couldn’t stop Anne from wishing Cathy would hold her more often.

Normally, they would just sit around in Jane’s house, Anna trying to teach Anne to play video games. This time, though, Cathy took the group to the park. At first glance, it didn’t seem like a problem. For the first two hours they all enjoyed sitting on the swings even though they were all too old. When Kitty and Anna started making loving glances at each other, Anne decided now was a good time to talk to Cathy alone. It’s not like she had anything to say, Anne just liked talking to Cathy when it was just them two.

“Annie? You’ve been more quiet this time. Are you certain nothing is going on at School?” They were still walking, but Cathy had turned to face her with a look of concern on her face.

“Cath, I promise you, it’s all good.” Anne lied, apparently she was pretty good at that because the worried look dropped of Cathy’s face and she grinned.

“That’s good!” They walked in silence for a while. The entire time, Anne was wondering if she should just hold Cathy’s hand or not. It would probably be easier to just brew a love potion and just rush past the awkward rejection phase. However, that would probably get her caught by the Ministry and Anne didn’t want that to happen.

Anne was debating with herself when she heard a screech of pain, a rather familiar screech. Her head shot up in the direction of the sound. Anne's eyes immediately latched onto the small body of her owl, flapping his wings as best as he could to stay in the air. The two were frozen as they watched the owl fall to the ground and land with a loud THUMP. That seemed to shock Anne out of her trance because she sprinted to the frail body of the Barn Owl.

"Barney!" She cried, blinking tears out of her eyes as she fell to her knees. Cathy ran up behind her, and gasped as she saw what had happened to the owl. His right wing was out of place and feathers were where they shouldn't have been. There were also dry cuts that littered the animal. With shaking hands, Anne gathered the animal into her arms and stood up, Cathy had removed her cardigan. She was wrapping Barney as gently as she could to keep him warm.

"Anne, are you sure everything at school is okay?" Cathy asked, not making eye contact.

Just as Anne opened her mouth to say something, she heard a scream come from across the playground. Both girls spun around and were met with chaos. A tall, beefy boy with strawberry blonde hair stood facing Anne with a look of anger on his face, his wand was out and facing Kitty, who he had managed to pull into his left arm.

"Henry, let her go!" Anne shouted, staying calm to not scare the others. Cathy clutched Anne's arm tightly and whimpered. Catherine and Anna tried to make a move towards Kitty but Henry was already pointing his wand at them.

"No one is moving until I get what I came here for!" His voice echoed around the empty park.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi! I'm back! enjoy this short chapter!

"What does he want?" Cathy whispered, her voice shaking.

Anne stood still, Barney in her arms and Cathy gripping her jumper sleeve. He wanted her. Fuck, Anne knew avoiding him for the last few weeks was a bad idea, but she didn't know this would happen.

"Anne?" Cathy nudged her gently.

"Me. He came for me." She mumbled in shock.

"Annie!" Kat cried desperately, shaking Anne out of her stupor. Hot anger boiled in Anne when she saw Henry press his wand further into Kat's neck. Henry had a twisted smirk on her face. Kat was crying, so was Jane. Aragon was trying (and failing to) hold Anna back.

Anne and Cathy were frozen as they watched Anna run to Henry with a stone expression on her face. "Hey, asshole!" She shouted.

Henry spun to face her, looking mildly annoyed. "What?" He snarled.

"Put Kat down, right now."

Henry snorted, not at all threatened. "Or what, Muggle?"

Anna stopped, seemingly realising that she couldn’t fight him. She glanced at Kat then over to Anne, begging with her eyes for Anne to do something.

But what could she do, Anne wasn’t allowed to magic yet and Henry had his wand pointed straight at Kat’s neck. He could easily take her head off. Still, she had to help. Anne nodded slightly and reached behind her, feeling her waistband for the thin wood.

“Annie? What are you doing?” Cathy asked, turning to face Anne with wide eyes. “You can’t use magic!” She whispered, her voice cracking. They made eye contact and Anne’s eyes started to well up.

“I know, Cath.” Anne pulled Cathy into a hug, probably for the last time.

“I can’t lose you, Anne. I don’t want to forget you!” Cathy cried, tears fell onto Anne’s jumper.

“I love you, Cathy.” Anne sobbed. “Please tell everyone I love them.” She let go, pulling her wand out. It was then Anne remembered the owl wrapped up in her arms, quietly, Anne handed him to Cathy. "Look after him."

“Annie, no!” Cathy cried out, but Anne was already moving towards Henry and Kat.

Anne stepped forward, shaking. She had her wand at her side, not ready to use it, not yet. Not until Henry went too far. But what would push her over the edge? Kat getting hurt, or the threat of losing her friends?

Anne was terrified, she would never admit it, but Henry scared the living daylights out of her. Maybe it’s because he had so much on her. Maybe it’s because Henry was in his last year of Hogwarts and knew more about magic than she did. Whatever it was, Anne was scared. She felt like a little girl, going to tell her dad about the mess she made.

“Ah, Boleyn.” Henry grinned. It made Anne feel sick to her stomach. “I see you made the right decision.”

“Henry. Let Kat go and I’ll go with you.” Anne said, holding her wand up, her hand shaking.

“Drop the wand. You know you can’t do magic, Bobo.” Henry replied, smugly.

“Don’t call me that.” She whispered, shame smothering her anger.

Holding Kat with one arm, Henry gently placed a hand on Anne’s. He slowly forced Anne’s wand down, suddenly snaking his hand around her waist and to her-

"Flipendo!" Anne cried, her wand raised and pointed at Henry. Henry flew back, letting Kat go.

"Annie!" Cathy sobbed. Anne whirled around to face her and the other three.  _ What had she just done? _


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and we're almost done! there will probably be a sappy little paragraph next chapter but wow this has been really fun to do! and seeing how you guys react was probably one of the only things keeping me motivated!! i'm so glad i could share this story with you all!

Anne froze, she had done it now. Everyone knew what happened when you performed magic in front of a muggle. Her dad had specifically told her to never tell Cathy about it in case this were to happen, of course Anne didn't listen and told Cathy (only Cathy, Kat told everyone else). Anne knew what her dad would say when he found out, _"if you just listened to me for five minutes Anne, none of this would've happened."_ But she didn't listen and now she was going to lose her only friends.

Cathy slowly came towards her, she looked sad and scared. Oh she looked so, so scared. "Annie? It's going to be okay, right?" Cathy's voice shook as she looked into Anne's eyes.

Anne wanted to tell Cathy it would be, she just needed to nod. But she couldn't. Anne knew, Cathy knew, and by the looks of it Anna, Ari and Jane knew too. "I'm sorry." She replied and blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears from falling.

Kat came running over, she wasn't trying to hide her sadness, or _anger_. "I hate you!" Kat screamed, she hit Anne's arm. "You ruined everything! I hate you. I hate you. I hate you." With each sentence Anne received a blow to her left arm.

“Kitty, please!” Anne cried. “Kitty, now isn’t the time! You need to go, now!” She said, pushing Kat’s flailing arms away from her into Anna.

“Anne, what the hell is going to happen to us?” Ari asked, the only one with any semblance of calm. Jane was fussing over Kat whilst Anna was whispering gently into her ear. Cathy was stroking Barney’s beak gently with a shaking hand.

“I’m not sure.” Anne mumbled, fiddling with the tip of her wand. “But maybe if you go now, they won’t find you for a while?” Even to her it sounded like a stupid idea, the Ministry was probably on it’s way already.

“How on God’s Earth will we get away that fast?” Ari said, a small quiver in her voice.

“I don’t know any spells, but they might be more distracted by Henry and I if you run now.” Anne knew that was probably right, she knew Henry would never go down without a fight so all she needed to do was make sure he was still in the area when the Ministry representatives arrived. She slipped her wand back into the waistband of her jeans, knowing she wouldn’t need it anymore.

“What about you?” Anna asked, looking up with tears in her eyes. Anna never cried.

“I’ll be fine, and so will you all.” Anne tried to smile but it wobbled and dropped into a frown. “You just need to go now, and take Kat.” _She can’t be mixed up in this, no more than she already was._

“We'll see you soon, yeah?” Jane staggered to her feet and wrapped Anne in a tight hug.

 _No, no you won’t. You won’t even remember me by tomorrow._ “Of course, a little run in with the law won’t get rid of me for long.” She said and squeezed Jane. “Now go, all of you.” Jane pulled away and smiled again before turning around.

“Come on, we can go to my house!” Jane said, a forced enthusiasm in her tone.

So they did, and in under a minute, Anne was left alone in the park. Well, almost, Henry was still lying on the ground, whining. Anne huffed and walked over to him.

“I know you aren’t that hurt, get up.” She grumbled and kicked him, not hard enough to leave a bruise.

“Look, Bo. We’re already both in major trouble with the ministry. I might as well try and milk it and get a lighter sentence.” He replied. His voice was completely different from their confrontation earlier. His tone was softer now, joking almost. This was the Henry she knew.

“Henry. You’re eighteen, you aren’t in any trouble. I’m the one who used magic underage.” She mumbled as she held back tears.

“Uh, where did your mates go?” Henry sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

“Don’t act like you even care!” Anne hissed, her eyes narrowing. “You come here, far away from your Summer Home in the countryside to threaten my friends to get me back, and then have the _audacity_ to act like you care?” She said, raising her voice.

“Annie, I’m sorry-”

“NO! No Henry! You’ve just fucked up ever single chance I had of happiness. You’re so… so selfish, and an awful, awful person!” Anne said, her voice breaking with all her pent up emotion.

“Anne, please-”

“You don’t understand, Tudor. I _loved_ Cathy, and you took that all away from me! I loved the way her eyes would light up when she would talk about her muggle friends, and how she would make sure we each had equal sides of the blanket when watching a film. I loved her compassion and innocence and you tore that-” Anne was cut off by Henry spinning her around to face Cathy. _Oh no_. “-away.” She ended in a squeak.

Cathy stood there, her arms still wrapped around Barney. They both stood in silence, a bright red blush rose up Anne’s neck. The silence was long and awkward, even Henry knew to stay quiet.

Then Cathy spoke. “Did you mean that, Annie?” She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Oh of course I mean it Cathy, every single word.” Anne said, looking straight into Cathy’s eyes. She felt more tears well up when she remembered what was going to happen. “I would’ve preferred to tell you under better circumstances but this might be the last time we ever see each other so-”

For the second time that day Anne was cut off, not by Henry, but with Cathy’s lips on hers. They were kissing. Hang on, they were _kissing_ . But it ended as quickly as it started, Anne hadn’t moved, eyes wide and staring at Cathy. She has always imagined this moment, and she had to admit, it had never turned out like this. But in all honesty, Anne didn’t mind, _Cathy kissed her!_

“You taste like salt.” Cathy said, grinning as she cupped Anne’s face in her hands.

“Wow.” Anne replied, completely in awe. Cathy giggled and kissed her again, and this time Anne kissed back. She had heard that when you kissed your soulmate, you felt whole again, and _wow_ did Anne feel whole. She held Cathy close as they kissed, not waiting to let go as she started to feel a weird sensation on the back of her neck. Magic.

 _Shit_.

Anne pulled away quickly, still holding onto Cathy, just as the first wizard apparated into the park. She could feel Cathy tense under her arms, she was shaking. They both were, Anne realised. They were scared, so scared.

Cathy sobbed quietly as more _pop_ s filled the empty park. “Shh, Cathy it’s going to be alright. I promise Cath. No one will hurt you.” Anne soothed as she pulled Cathy close.

“Miss Boleyn, I believe you know why we are here?” The Minister stepped forward. Anne wasn’t surprised he was here, after all she was on her final warning.

“Yes, Minister, I do.” Anne whispered, her throat suddenly dry. She moved her hand down to hold Cathy’s, hoping to stop the shaking.

The Minister's eyes flicked down to see their hands entwined, he tutted and looked away. “You’re going to have to come with us,” He paused and looked at Cathy again. “Both of you.”

Anne didn’t know what hurt more, Cathy’s crying or the fact she would never see her again, not like this anyway. “We knew it was going to happen, Cath. It’s going to be okay.” Anne said, pulling Cathy close.

“The charm doesn’t hurt, you won’t feel a thing.” An Obliviator said from the back of the group.

“How much will I forget?” Cathy whispered, her voice muffled against Anne’s chest.

“All of it.” The Minister said solemnly.

Anne’s heart dropped to her stomach. “What do you mean, ‘all of it’? You can’t just erase me!” She said, trying (and failing) to keep the panic out of her voice.

“She’s been subjected to too much magic.”

“What? No she hasn’t! I’ve never used magic around Cathy before!” Anne tried to reason.

“You have Annie, remember?”

Anne remembered perfectly.

_They were seven, Anne and Kat had just moved to their new house in their new muggle town. Anne was never any good at controlling her magic, after all she had never really been taught, growing up in a town full of Magic._

_Oftentimes she would sit in the garden and watch as flowers swayed in a non-existent breeze. The breeze she had created. Her dad never found out, she thought no one knew. But then one day she spotted a girl looking at her in wonder on the other side of the fence. “Are you doing that?” The girl asked, standing on the tips of her toes to peak over the fence._

_“Yeah!” Anne ginned, but it was quickly replaced by a small frown “But you aren’t supposed to know.”_

_“Oh well, I’ve known for a while now.” The girl replied. “I live just over the path, I can see you from the garden.” She continued when Anne didn’t say anything._

_“I could go to magic jail.” Was all Anne said._

_“That’s silly! Magic doesn’t exist!” The girl giggled as she fiddled with the latch of the gate._

_“Yes it does. I was doing some.” Once again, Anne looked confused. “You can’t do it?”_

_“Duh.” The girl replied and pushed the gate open. She stepped into the garden and sat next to Anne. “I’m Catherine, by the way!” Catherine said and smiled._

_“Anne!” She copied Catherine’s smile._

_“Well Anne, you can do magic?” Catherine asked, fiddling with the hem of her blue dress._

_“Yeah! Daddy works in the Ministry!”_

_“What’s that?” Cathy asked, looking as confused as Anne had earlier._

_“It’s like the government, but for witches and wizards.” Anne replied._

_“So it’s real? Magic?” Cathy’s eyes widened and she sat up, suddenly excited. Anne nodded. “Can you do some more?”_

_“Oh, mummy says I’m not supposed to show muggles magic, but you seem like you can keep a secret!”_

Anne didn’t realise she was crying until she felt Cathy wipe her tears away gently. “It’s going to be alright, Annie. I promise.” She said, and gently ran her fingers through Anne’s hair. “It’s going to be okay.”

Anne sniffed and nodded. She turned towards the group of Ministry reps. “What’s going to happen?” She asked.

“Well, both you and Mr Tudor are now on record for breaking the Statue Of Secrecy more than once. So we’ll have to take you to the Ministry. Miss Parr shall be obliviated once we get her home.” The Minister said. Cathy tensed beside Anne but didn’t say a word.

“Wait, Sir what about me?” Henry spoke at last. Anger built up in Anne’s body as she saw what he was doing, trying to make himself seem more innocent than he really was.

“Well, this is your one and only warning, Mr Tudor. If you do magic in front of a muggle again, I’ll probably have you shipped off to Azkaban.” The Minister said, matter of factly.

Henry paled and swayed on the spot, and Anne had to hide a grin. She knew it wasn’t nice to wish someone should be sent to Azkaban, but he had already ruined her life, he should at least have his ruined too.

“Now Miss Parr, we should go.” An Obliviator said, stepping out of the group and moving to stand next to Cathy.

Cathy moved away from Anne, “Of course, Sir.”

“I’m going to miss you Cathy.” Anne whispered, gently taking Barney back. The Owl hooted quietly, he would probably be healed soon.

“I’m going to miss you too, Annie.” Cathy said, her voice cracking and tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she was being dragged away, and there was nothing Anne could do to stop it. “I love you, Anne!” Cathy cried, trying to pull away from the man holding her.

“Come on you two, we need to get to the Ministry.” The Minister said, taking hold of Henry and Anne’s upper arms to apparate them to London.

That was the last time Kat and Anne saw their friends.


	5. epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it everyone! The final chapter! Okay this has been really fun to write and I'm so so glad that people have stuck around to the end! This is also really important to me because this is officially the first (intended) multichapter story i have ever finished!! And to see the feedback it's received had only inspired me to write more! thank you all for reading this and please leave a comment at the end if you enjoyed!!

It had been ten years since Anne had last seen Cathy in the park, being dragged away. In fact it was the last time Anne had seen any of her friends. They moved quickly after the accident, not wanting it to happen again. It had taken Kat a while to forgive Anne for ruining her life, but she came around. 

Henry hadn’t been seen since then either, he had just finished Hogwarts but when Anne asked about him, none of the professors knew either, it was like he had gone totally off the grid. Until Anne found him with an unsuspected guest…

Anne didn’t usually go to clubs or bars, not after she had been followed by that man once. But she decided to treat herself, Kat was working late and would meet her at the bar they chose, one in their old town. Anne knew she was being monitored, but she doubted any of them would still be here. She knew that Jane was now an important pediatrician in London. She knew that Anna had just come into a huge fortune and was back in Germany. She knew that Lina had started a girl group that was quickly gaining traction. However she didn’t know what Cathy was doing, she had decided to never look into her, just in case she would hurt her again.

Anne was sitting in a booth, fiddling with one of her space buns when she heard a laugh. A laugh she recognised very well. Anne sat up straight, eyes frantically searching for her. It didn’t take her long to zero in on Cathy. Her hair was down and she was in a midnight blue dress that hugged her body. Anne couldn’t stop staring, which she knew was wrong, Cathy didn’t know her anymore. This probably wasn’t the same Cathy she had known ten years ago.

But that didn't stop her getting up, smoothing her skirt and walking towards her and her group. Anne didn't really pay any attention to the rest as she stopped short of their table. Her throat started to feel dry as she stood there like an idiot.

She tried to open her mouth and talk but nothing came out, instead she just started at Cathy like some creep.  _ Great. _

"Uh, Catherine, I think you have an admirer." One woman said, loud enough for Anne to hear.

"Oh?" Cathy asked as she turned around and looked straight at Anne. "Hello?"

Anne was frozen, she had hardly changed a bit. She still fiddled with her sleeves and pulled at a strand of hair as a nervous habit. Anne was staring again.  _ You must look like a fool _ . She scolded herself.

"Wow." Anne mumbled, reminded her of the kiss, their kiss. The kiss that never, even happened to Cathy.

"Okay, Leah, I'll be right back. Tell Henry to meet me by the bar." Cathy said as she stood up, grabbed Anne's hand and pulled her away from the table to the bar.

_ Wait, did she say Henry? No, no he wouldn't. No one has seen him for years. _ Anne frantically thought as she was dragged across the floor, only just keeping up with Cathy.

"Look, I don't know who you are, or what you want, but please don't bother me tonight." Cathy said sternly.

"I'm sorry, what's happening tonight?" Anne asked, more interested in that than making amends.

"And you need to know that because…?" Cathy asked, a frown on her face.

“Because... “ Anne started, looking anywhere but at Cathy. “It's private. Family business.” Anne said as firmly as she could. She shuddered,  _ family _ . Never in a million years did she think that she would ever call Henry family.

“Oh you must be his sister!” Cathy said, her frown turning into a smile. She held her hand out for Anne to shake.

“Yes. I am his sister.” She sighed and shook Cathy’s hand.  _ He has a sister? _ Anne didn’t know that.

“You should come and sit with us! We’re just waiting on your brother and then we can start!” Cathy grinned and clapped her hands happily, a gleam in her eyes.

“Start what?” Anne asked, a pit forming in her stomach. She hadn’t seen it before, but glinting under the lights, Anne could see a ring wrapped around Cathy’s ring finger.  _ Oh no _ .

“The wedding preparations!” Cathy squealed. Anne’s world stopped.

They were getting married. Henry was marrying Cathy, and there was no way she could stop it. She was going to lose Cathy again. “I’ll be right there, just got to do something first.” Anne muttered in shock. She pulled away from Cathy and turned to leave. She sped across the floor, trying to keep her face neutral. Cathy didn’t know her, she wouldn’t know why Anne reacted like this.

Anne reached for the door and pulled it open. It was raining, but Anne didn’t care. She walked through the rain, hands around her arms, like she was hugging herself. She quickly realised she had left her coat on the seat next to her.

She sighed but kept walking until she bumped into someone. She didn’t look up to see who it was, she didn’t even apologise. She just kept walking. Anne didn’t get very far though because the person she had bumped into grabbed her upper arm and spun her around. “Hey!” She cried and tried to pull away. The hand just held on tighter. Anne looked up and gasped. “Henry.” She hissed, her voice quiet.

“Anne.” He said in return and let go. Anne rubbed her arm but didn’t go anywhere.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” They asked at the same time. Anne stepped back as she saw a small smirk grow on Henry’s face.

“We really do have a connection.” He said, his grin widening when he saw Anne flinch and move away.

“Stop.” She whispered. “We aren’t a thing, we never were.”

“I think you really did love me Bobo. You’re just ashamed.” Oh how Anne wanted to punch him. But she couldn’t not in front of everyone.

“Stop it Henry.”

“Or what, Bobo? You’ll use magic again? You know you can’t do that.” He taunted, pouting.

“Yeah well at least I wouldn’t go to Azkaban if that were to happen.” She grinned up at him innocently.

He grabbed her again, this time tight enough to leave a bruise. He pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “Watch it Anne.”

“Or what? You’ll use magic?” Anne mocked.

“I mean it, Bo.” He threatened before pushing her away.

Luckily nothing went any further because Cathy came weaving through the crowd, Anne’s coat in her hands.

“Oh, Henry! We were waiting for you!” Cathay said, a smile lit her face as she looked at Henry. Anne felt sick to her stomach.

“Yeah, I was looking for you too.” He didn’t sound so happy.

Cathy frowned and turned away from him to face Anne.“I found your coat! You left it when you ran out.” She said, smiling gently.

Anne took it and smiled back, blushing. “Right, thank you!”

“Look, Cathy. I need to talk to you.” Henry said suddenly, a solemn look on his face. Anne stopped pulling on her coat to listen in.

“About what? Can’t we talk about this in the bar, Henry? It’s pouring down.” Cathy frowned and stepped closer to him.

Henry held her left hand between his. “I think we should break up.” He said. Cathy and Anne gasped.

“What? But Henry…” Cathy asked, looking from his hands to his face. “Why?” She was close to tears, Anne could tell.

“I just think we need a break.” Henry said, slipping the ring off Cathy’s limp finger.

Cathy looked down at her now bare hand, opening and closing her mouth, gaping like a fish.

“I’m sorry, Cath-”

“Go away.” She mumbled, still not looking up at him.

“But Cathy-”

“Go away!” She shouted and pushed him away. Henry gasped, surprised by Cathy’s strength. Anne grinned but quickly forced it off her face when Cathy turned to her. “You too! Your whole family can fuck itself!” She sobbed and turned back to the bar.

“No, Cathy, wait! I’m not with him! I swear!” Anne said, racing to catch up with her.

“Then you lied to me!”   


“Only so I could talk to you. Please, believe me.” Anne panted as she pushed the door open for Cathy.

“About what?” Cathy asked, walking straight past her table to the bathroom.

“I don’t know, I just wanted to get to know you.” Anne said pathetically as they entered the bathroom.

“Look, my boyfriend just broke up with me, can it wait a few minutes?” Cathy asked whilst pulling tissues out of the holder on the wall.

“Yeah, sure.” Anne nodded and pulled herself up to sit on the counter. 

Five minutes later, when Cathy had calmed down, she turned to Anne. “Shall we start again? On the right foot this time?” She asked, a hint of a smile on her face.

Anne nodded and held out her hand for Cathy to shake. “I’m Anne Boleyn!” She grinned. Kat was probably waiting for her outside but she didn’t care at this precise minute. Kat was an adult, she could look after herself.

“Hi, I’m Catherine Parr.” Cathy said and shook Anne’s hand.


End file.
